Ben Moore on recovery – DIY surgery

September 1st, 2016

Ben Moore on recovery – how a Pro rider tackles the inevitable…

We recently helped Ben get his bike set up for the Megavalanche, where he was the highest place Brit to finish.

Ironically, the week after what’s probably the most dangerous bike event on earth – the Orange rider smashed himself up in Les Gets Bikepark when he was out having fun. It goes to show that even the top riders get it wrong here and there.

We caught up with Ben Moore on recovery – and helped him remove his staples (exclusive video at the bottom of this page)

Ben Moore on recovery – all smiles until we happily obliged to remove his 29 staples!

“July presented a busy month for me – setting off to Alpe d’Huez for a week of training before taking on the unique shoulder to shoulder Megavalanche race over the hectic 31km from Pic Blanc at 3300m down to Lake Allemont at 720m. The week leading up to the event was great fun as well as hard work”

Ben Moore’s Orange Alpine 160 – set up with a wide rear rim; Schwalbe Pro Core; spare mech hanger taped on to the frame; saddle pack with C02 cartridges ready for use and a tube taped on the frame. This thing was built to make it to the bottom of the mountain at all costs. Ironic really to think after the gnarliest MTB race on earth, we’re chatting to Ben Moore on recovery after a crash on a Blue run in a bike park!

“I was really getting to grips with my ‘megaproofed’Orange Alpine 160 – the aggressive setup worked fantastically and everything seemed to flow well leading up to the race.
During the first 400m of qualifying I had a slip in a snow section which found myself face first in the snow! This lost a few precious places but I held on to take 5th and bag myself a second row start in Sunday’s main event.
The main race is without a doubt the scariest event of the year; going shoulder to shoulder with 250+ other riders on the start of a bullet straight red ski run is terrifying and anyone who says it’s not is having you on!”

“I got the start I wanted and pushed on to keep with the top lads. Unfortunately the snow was very slushy which meant most of us had to push the bike and run along side it for a lot of the 2km snow section. Holding on well I pushed on in the early stages of the race knowing my strength would look after me before fatigue set in. All went to plan for the race but my fitness for a 50 minute race was simply not there – I had trained on a 6 month training plan to increase strength and power, which lost some of the endurance that I had built for so many years! Lots of people may ask why I did this, but it’s simple – I only had 1 event this year that was 50 minutes long. The rest are 1-4 minutes long and require all-out effort”

“Driving into Morzine straight after taking 41st place at the Mega was a cool feeling. Going from high intensity pressured racing to the tranquil relaxing atmosphere of Morzine town square was a contrast! I decided to chill the following day just to give my body a rest. Monday flew by and I spent the day sightseeing and bar hopping! Tuesday morning came out of no where and I was super keen to join some friends on the infamous trails of Morzine and Les Gets. We headed to Les Gets first as it had rained all night in Morzine.

Taking the first chair lift up, the lads wanted to start on a blue route. I was itching to get onto some more serious stuff but wanted to stick with the lads so agreed to follow them down the blue first. Half way down my brain literally switched off -it was so easy that I didn’t need to pay any attention right?

It was so wet that even the small tabletops of the blue run were not clearable – as I landed on the top of one the front wheel stopped dead in a boggy mess and ejected me over the bars so fast that I couldn’t even let go of the bars.

The impact on the ground was so sudden and so hard I snapped my collar bone in 3 places – not a good feeling at all!”

“Luckily I was accompanied by friends who responded quickly and called for help. I was expecting a long walk down the mountain but got the full platinum service of the French mountain rescue team with their helicopter! These guys were awesome and got me to hospital rapidly.

The Doctor at the hospital said it did not need an operation though, and kicked me out the hospital. I strongly disagreed with him and following an incredibly painful 10 hour drive back to England I went straight to the hospital in Poole, where the Doctor said I needed an immediate operation due to bits of bone almost puncturing my skin and sitting vertically instead of horizontally!
The operation was a complex one and took the surgeon 3 and a half hours but was successful”

After chatting to Ben Moore on recovery, we gave him a helping hand removing his staples (with some advice from the Doctor next door first) and chucked together a cool little video. If you’re squeamish you might want to give it a miss!

Ben Moore is currently 4 weeks into his rehab plan and is training on his Orange RX-9 cross bike – he should be should be back on the big bikes very soon.Ben is heading to Taxco for the final of the City Downhill World Tour in November – and is really excited to be back on form. Watch this space!

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